Rebuild Part I: A New Story
by cfulling3
Summary: This is the story of Casey Harris, a young girl who knows nothing outside of survival in the aftermath of CBI, who has been left alone after the death of her father. OC-Centric, but I will be adding Joel and Ellie eventually, but I'm not sure when. This is my first attempt at a FanFic, let alone sharing my writing. All constructive criticism is welcome! * New terms are added *
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Memories

The deer stood in the center of the clearing, bright sunlight cut through the forest surrounding it. A bird was chirping to the crisp, spring air somewhere nearby. But, only the deer mattered to the two figures creeping through the underbrush. The smaller of the two laid down and crawled into the bushes. The figure stopped only when the tip of the rifle barrel showed through. They looked through the scope long enough to get a clear shot on the eye of the deer, held their breath, and fired. The sound of the shot muffled by a priceless treasure, a military suppressor. The head of the deer twisted at an awkward angle as the round tore through the skull.

"Good shot, little girl," The taller figure called as he stood up, pulling down the bandanna covering his face, revealing the scarred, weathered face that matched the distant look in his green eyes. This had become the symbol for when things are safe, when the child carrying the rifle could come out of hiding. She crawled forward into the clearing before standing up. Her pale skin lied, she spent her entire life outside.

She turned to look at the man, giving a toothy grin as she told him, "Thanks, I learned from the best." Her blue eyes shone with pride from her father's compliment.

He chuckled at the look in her eyes before saying, "Don't get too excited now, you still have to clean it." The father knew she wouldn't care, though. She'd grown the stomach for it years ago. She had to in order to survive. He couldn't really claim any credit for his daughter, she looked almost exactly like her mother.

Her mother…

Despite his resistance, his mind wandered back to that day, the day those animals took almost everything from him. It was a miracle that his daughter survived a birth only hours after her mother was bitten, it is a miracle that, after 13 years, she hasn't had a single symptom.

She was the miracle he would die to protect.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lost

The father spun around at the sound of a twig snapping and, shouldering an AR-15, shouted, "Who's there! Come out with your weapons holstered or I'll fuckin' light you up!"

At this demand, a man roughly 50 years old shambled out from behind a tree. His deranged eyes were sunken into his head, the dark gray hair covering most his head was filled with dirt, and he was wearing more of rags than clothes at that point. He spoke with a hoarse voice, "Hello, um… heh, my, uh, my name is Evan. Do, you uh… mind if I ask for your names?"

After hesitating for a moment, the father spoke, without lowering the rifle, "My name is Brandon, and the girl is my daughter C-"

"Oh, um… I'm sorry, heh, I'll uh, I'll just be going," Evan said before turning around to run away.

"What the hell was that about, Dad?" The daughter asked curiously, brushing a rebellious group of black hairs out of her freckled face.

"Fuckin' Vagrants…" Brandon muttered under his breath. Turning to his daughter, he gave a tight smile and said, "Let's get back your deer, yeah?"

After a few hours of walking, they came across a city being overcome by the greenery it was built over. Brandon pulled a map out of his back pocket and said, "Alright, this should be… Columbus. Hopefully the QZ is still standing." The odds weren't in their favor, judging from the overgrowth surrounding the walls of the zone. He spent a few minutes checking the area out before deciding a nearby tower that's been impaled by a crane would suffice for a lookout position.

On the way to the tower, they were sidetracked at a gas station, where the daughter pointed out a sign written in blood, "What's that say, Dad?"

Brandon gave a barely audible sigh, the first thing he planned on doing when they found a standing QZ was teach his daughter how to read. But, for now, he'd just have to put up with this, "It says...'Look for His Light'."

"What does that mean?"

"...Nothing, c'mon, we've still got a destination to reach."

They reached the base of the crane about 30 minutes after. Climbing it would be easier than he thought at first glance. The crossbeams formed a sort of staircase as they fell, Brandon spoke while climbing, "Alright, Cass, I'm going first, I'll tell you once the coast is clear for you to climb- Oh, shit! Behind you, Casey!"

She felt the butt of a rifle smash her in the head, knocking her out immediately. Brandon started to shoulder his rifle to take out the Hunter that was beginning to tie up his child and carry her to...God knows where, when a second Hunter seemingly materialized out of thin air, shot him in the ribs, and sent him falling 15 feet onto his shoulder…

… Brandon woke up gasping in pain and lying in a small pool of his own blood. He tried to stand, but ended up resolving to just sitting with his back against the wall of the tower and weeping through the night.

Casey, the one thing the world hasn't taken from him, is gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Daughter

**A/N: Finally figured out what I'm supposed to do for author's notes. Sorry for the slow beginning, I'm trying to do a lot with this story at once while showing I'm not a dumb 15-year-old who thinks they can write. Please leave a review so I can figure out what to do to be a better writer, it'd help out a lot! On a quick side note, at around this time in the main game, Joel would have just started his rampage in Salt Lake City.**

Casey woke up with to a dull pounding inside her head, she tried to yawn and stretch the sleep away, but she the pain sharpened every time she tried to move, so she resolved to just sit still and observe her surroundings. She was in a small, concrete room with moss beginning to crawl up the side of one wall. In one corner, a thin mattress that smelled of dust and mold was laying down, covered by an equally neglected blanket. There was a wooden door on the wall she was facing, she contemplated trying to open it, but decided that whoever brought her here had the sense to lock it. The wall to her right was just some iron poles forced into their positions. An emaciated corpse that smelled of cordyceps was visible through the bars, their throat was cut and a bullet wound was in their head. Other than that, the room next to her was identical to the one she was in.

She began to assess the damage done by whatever hit her right cheek. She flinched as her fingers hit the bruise that formed over the evening. She gingerly brought her fingers back to the bruise before concluding that no serious had been done. Safe in that knowledge, she looked herself over. Her hoodie and long-sleeved shirt had been replaced with a dirty gray T-Shirt, her jeans had been replaced by a ragged pair of cargo shorts that hit her knees.

Her attention was brought back to the door when she heard the click that confirmed her earlier suspicions. A man with short cut blonde hair stepped through the door, a strange symbol was wrapped around his neck, the same one she's passed several times. A shorter rectangle being suspended by a larger one. HIs gray eyes blinked in surprise when he turned around after closing the door and saw her nervous blue eyes staring back at them, "Oh, you're awake," He said moving closer to her, uncomfortably close, "Well, then in that case-" He grabbed the back of her head, pushed it down into the concrete, and climbed on top her. The nervousness in Casey's eyes was replaced by an animalistic sense of terror at what was about to happen. He leaned in close to her ear, his hot, sulphuric breath stung her as he hissed, " -Don't scream."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I just wanted to thank the 22 people so far who've read my story. It's pretty awesome to think that there are some people out there who are actually reading my writing. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I will include the Jackson safe haven in the later chapters and I do plan on uploading 2-4 chapters a week with another 2 on the weekends.**

Chapter 4: Abraham

Casey woke up, her legs pulled up over her chest and with her arms wrapped around herself. It's been days, weeks, months since she's been first woken up here, either way, she's given up on any hope of getting out. Her father was dead, Casey was certain of it now, there's no way he wouldn't have found her by now. The shirt she had been wearing felt more like a bunch of rags used to bandage her wounds. These people hated her. That's all she was certain of. Why else would she be spending her days being beaten? Why else would her nights be filled with fear that she'd be raped again? Why else haven't they killed her? Those...things that do these horrible things to her have told her they just want the best for her, that the only way for her to reach salvation and a place by His side was to endure the trials the Lord set out for her.

She heard a door open, and looked up expecting it to be the person who collects her for them to get whatever sick sense of pleasure they receive from torturing a 13-year-old kid; and was surprised to find this was not the case. She suddenly became aware of a man screaming in the room next to her. She looked over in time to see the blonde haired man stab somebody in the eye with a screwdriver. He tried to pull it out, but after a few unsuccessful attempts he left it in there.

Right next to the bars.

Casey quickly realized this could be her one chance at escape, she quickly, but quietly crawled over to the bars put an emaciated arm through, and grabbed the handle of the screwdriver and put her other hand on his head, and pulled with as much strength as she could muster. The screwdriver came out rather unwillingly. She stood up, put her hand on the bars to steady herself, and crept towards the door. She stabbed right above the handle and pushed upwards until she heard the _click_ that now would mean the signal of freedom. The screwdriver, unfortunately, broke. No matter, she could easily find a new weapon.

She stumbled into the large room, the door to the exit was to her left, a staircase to freedom lie in wait. She started to climb over a table set up in a poor attempt to block a door. In her excitement, she failed to do two things: grab a weapon, and check her corners. She realized this after an arm reached around her chest and a sharp pain blistered through her leg as the bowie knife carried by the blonde man cut through muscle and bone, causing her to scream in pain before the breath was forced out of her when she slammed into the ground. His gray eyes brimmed with rage, and his voice dripped with malice as he spoke, "You just had to try to run, didn't you, little one? Why can't you see, we only want to help you. Very well, if you do not want to go forth on a path into Heaven, I will force you into Hell," He smiled, pinning Casey's arms down with his knees, "But first, a little bit of fun, shall we?" he said as he drug his knife around her left eye socket, leaving a trail of blood following it. He ran the fingers of his other hand through her black hair as she flinched in pain and said in a tone that was supposed to be soothing, "Hush, child, everything is going to be alright…"

The soldier had seen enough, these were bad people, he knew it the second he entered the basement and saw this animal on top of a poor little girl. He drew a suppressed M9 out of it's holster, sprinted down the stairs, and struck the man in the jaw with a knee. Knocking him off of her, this man looked up at his assailant after spitting out a mouthful of blood, only to see the barrel of a pistol and a man wearing a gas mask and a dirty USMC uniform staring down at him.

The rat had the nerve to begin pleading for mercy, "Look man, I meant nothing by it, I swear. Just, please don't kill me, man. Just don't fucking kill me plea-"

Disgusted, the soldier pulled the trigger and said, "You don't deserve mercy," Finally, he turned his attention back to the little girl, who has now backed into a corner and looking up at his face and down to his gun with fear in her eyes. _Poor little girl…_ the soldier thought. Her face was barely visible through the layer of dirt that accumulated over what must've been months locked down here, in this pit of hell, her shirt looked more like a giant rag with a hole where her shoulder should've been covered, her black hair was in mats, if she had any pants, she lost them a long time ago; probably taken away to make the winter months that much more unbearable, and she was covered in dirt and blood, all except for the bright blue eyes staring at him, waiting to see what his next move will be. He holstered his pistol walked a couple of steps towards her, knelt down, and pulled out his canteen and gave it to her. _Poor little girl…_ she drank as much as she could before starting to cough. At that point, he took the canteen back, put it away and spoke, "My name is Abraham Walker, and I'm going to get you out of here."

She looked into the eyes of his gas mask for a second, trying to look him in the eye, but couldn't find them because of the darkened plastic, and then she leapt up and hugged him, and spoke two simple words between sobs that shook her entire body, "Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: There isn't really much I can say about the story right now, except to apologize for the choppy appearance it has and that much of it feels like filler to me. Please review, I'm accepting any constructive criticism and questions about the story.**

Chapter 5: Healing

The only reason the Hunters had picked up the man they found at the base of a tower in the remnants of the city of Columbus was because he somehow managed to survive the large amount of blood he'd lost. They couldn't let the poor bastard get torn to pieces by a pack of clickers. Or worse, let those religious freaks holed up in the QZ get a hold of him. The reason they still allow him to travel with them was because they're terrified of him. After a supply run went awry, they returned to their temporary hideout on the outskirts of the city to find two people, at their oldest they'd be twenty-five and thirty, one tied to a chair with a face barely recognizable as that of a human. The other one was tied against an open window with a flock of about 4 runners tearing into the flesh that had been on the outside of a window. They found the man upstairs, sitting in the same position, staring out the same window, with the same hollow look in his dark green eyes. The only difference was the blood on his hands and boots.

When questioned about what happened, his response was as dead as he was, "They weren't her."

Abraham poured cold water onto a rag he cut from a surprisingly clean sheet he found inside of the small house they took refuge in after getting out of the quarantine zone. The little girl he found inside a warehouse basement on the outskirts of the town was lying down on the bed in front of him. Poor kid had fallen asleep almost the absolute second she hit the mattress.

"Alright, I'm going to clean off your face now, okay?" He said, more to himself than to the unconscious girl he was going through this trouble for. After a roughly three minutes of wiping off her face, during which she was almost unresponsive to, save for some small facial twitches. He was surprised at how pale her skin was. Until he checked her pulse, he thought she was either about to die, or lost a lot of blood. But, no, she was just that pale. she had a light dusting of freckles running from one cheek to the other that he felt stupid for going back and trying to wipe them away until he realized they weren't dirt. "Okay, kiddo, I'm going to be cleaning your hands now." He said soothingly as he run the rag across her palms, and in between her fingers. Her tiny, pale hands appeared to be bones compared to his light brown, large ones.

He hesitated before finally moving on to her legs. What if he caused an end to what could possibly be her last peaceful sleep? He decided, after looking at the stab wound in her right leg, it'd be worth the risk so that wound doesn't become infected. He is, after all, trying to remove the evidence of what she's been through. Trying to make it so she looks like a human again. After he was done cleaning her, he resolved to allow her to dress herself, and he'd help to either cut her hair, or brush the mats out once she woke. He put a pair of jeans, a black and white hoodie, and a tank top with a faded happy face on it. Afterwards, he went downstairs to keep watch, and to read a book he picked up awhile back.

The clicker clawed the gun out of the Hunter's hands, barely giving them time to grab the neck to escape it's jaws. She knew she only bought herself a couple of seconds, but it was all she needed to feel the pressure fall off her as the strange man stabbed the Infected in the fold where the fungus split on its way out of it's head and pulled it back and down into the floor. Did this man actually respond to the previous advances she made in an attempt to make him feel better about what happened? She jumped to hug him when he turned around as a gesture of thanks. He put his hand on her shoulder, a friendly gesture… until the Hunter felt something hit her stomach. She looked down, and his other hand, still clutching the knife had been pushed into her stomach, his other hand had moved to her chin and pushed it up so she looked him dead in the eyes. Those once lifeless green eyes were now filled with such a cold hatred. A hatred directed at her. His voice easily reflected that hatred with three words before dragging the knife down towards her abdomen, gutting and killing her.

"You aren't her."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm thinking this FanFic will have between 15 and 20 chapters. However, that number might change depending on how long it takes to get to the spot I'm wanting to end it at.**

Chapter 6: Safe Zone

Casey bolted upright in the bed, cringing afterwards as the exhausted, shredded muscles in her leg had sent a bolt of crippling pain up through it. She looked down to assess the damage to find it's already been wrapped up, same with the cut right below her left eye. Who would…oh, right. Abraham, she thought, laying her back down on the pillow. The man who saved her life, and now cleaned her and dressed her wounds. She couldn't figure out how she could repay this man. She got up, and noticing the pile of clothes laid out, quickly got dressed then went downstairs. She saw Abraham sitting on a couch, facing the door. His helmet and gas mask were on the floor right next to him. His short, black hair was flecked with gray. He turned to look at her when he heard the creaking of the stairs that meant someone was walking down them. "Hey," she said tiredly. She wasn't planning on waking up when she did; but she had to in order to escape the nightmares that followed her.

"Hey," Was his weary response. The man had large bags under his dark eyes. He was probably up all night, making sure nobody tried to break in. "I went on a supply run, had to find food. Anyways, I stumbled across this-" he said while lifting up a small backpack, "Just about everything of use was gone, except for an improvised knife and a picture." He handed the picture to Casey, who has now half walked, half limped over to the couch. "You know, I haven't gotten your name yet."

Casey barely heard the words. The picture was the one her dad traded his pistol for. They stumbled across a man who, surprisingly, had a working camera. She had just turned twelve on that day, and he wanted to get her something that was more than just surviving another day, more than finding enough food. She looked up, and saw Abraham looking at her with concern. She hugged him, and buried her face into his chest, silent tears streaming down her face. "Thank you, Abraham," She whimpered, and deciding he could be trusted with her name, she told him, "and, I'm Casey."

When Casey regained her composure, he pulled out a map leading from an X, to a symbol that formed an arrowhead, "We're here," Abraham, said pointing to the arrowhead, and, while pointing at the X, he said, "And, over here, it's been rumored that a group of survivors have set up a safe zone. At the rate I've been travelling, I should reach there about a month into winter. However, I'm not moving out until your leg has repaired itself," He lifted Casey's chin so she was looking him in the eyes, "I'm not going to force you to, but, if you want to, we can travel together."

Casey looked back down at the picture still in her hands, and remembered her father's last words. Her whole life, he was trying to protect her, and now, now she had a way out. She had a way where her safety could be guaranteed. All she had to do was travel with this man, and Dad's life wouldn't have been meaningless. She looked back into Abraham's eyes, and told him, "I'll come with you."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Winter

The two Hunters knew the stranger killed Rachel last night. Just like he killed Elicia in the beginning of the fall. They didn't know what to do. They contemplated running, but that was quickly shot down when snow began to fall. They thought of killing him, but that was turned down when he helped them fight against a herd of Infected; though that was probably just in the interest of self-preservation. They tried just talking to him, to figure what happened to him. That ended with Rachel being dragged outside tied up, and a gunshot ringing through the trees. Hearing the screams of Infected mixed with Rachel's screams told it wasn't an easy death. They resolved to just wait out the winter, then try to leave. Until then, they wouldn't even acknowledge him.

They sat down for a quiet meal, and put a can of baked beans in the room he designated to be where he just sat, staring out the window with the dead look in his eyes. Except for the obviously psychopathic man upstairs, this was just a normal night. But, something was wrong. They could sense it when they both started becoming too exhausted for either of them to keep watch. One of them began to ask if they were drugged, but he passed out too quickly to finish.

He woke up with his brain pounding against the sides of his head. He looked across the table and saw his friend in a similar state to him. He tried to stand up before realizing his feet were tied to a chair, along with one hand, and again, his friend was in the same situation. He heard footsteps coming from his right side, and looked up. The man that had terrified them was placing a chess board, set up and ready to be played, on the table. He then spoke with a voice deep and hoarse from underuse, "I don't really think we've had enough fun these past couple of months, do you?" he asked, but it seemed more rhetorical, "So, I've decided to change that, why don't we play a game of chess? Standard rules, but, for every piece you lose, I take off a finger or a toe. Loser, gets to die, and the winner watches them die before being released. Refuse to play, and you both die."

For the better part of an hour, they sat, playing the game and letting out a scream or cry whenever their piece was removed, until one of the Hunter's grinned and uttered the phrase, "checkmate."

After it was deemed to be a checkmate, the man went over to the other side of the table, and peeled the skin off the loser's face before ramming a tire iron down his throat. The man walked over to him, a roll of duct tape in hand, and taped his free hand down before grinning at the terrified face of the winner before saying, "Did you really think I was going to let you live?" and walked away, closing the door behind him and leaving the last Hunter to a slow, miserable end.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: For chapter 8, I've decided I'm going to finally give Joel an introduction into the story. I'd appreciate it if you guys told me if I got his character right, or what's needed to get it right. Also, I'd really appreciate some feedback on the story so far.**

Chapter 8: Jackson

A man with medium length, dirty blonde hair stood with his arms crossed staring at the map he had pinned up on the bulletin board in his office. He had settled here in an attempt to create somewhat of a normal life. He had gotten his wish, and, now he made it his goal to bring that hope to as many people as possible. With the discovery made by a scouting team he sent out a few weeks ago, it seemed not only possible, but opened up the idea of expansion. Possibly even retaking the entire county. An abandoned military outpost. Walls intact, relatively untouched by the world, and most importantly, a radio tower. If power was brought from the dam to the tower, they could possibly begin sending out radio transmissions on something with greater reach than portable radios.

His attention snapped back to the room when he heard the door open. A man wearing a tan leather jacket and flannel stepped. His tired, gray eyes matched the gray in his dark brown hair flecked with snow. He spoke with a thick southern accent, "You wanted to see me, Tommy?"

"Joel," Tommy responded, taking a seat and gesturing Joel to do the same, "I trust you and Ellie have been settling well?"

"Well, it's been kind of strange not having to sleep with one eye open. I think Ellie's settled in quite well, though she's started having the nightmares about what happened last year again," he paused before adding, "But, I reckon you called me here to talk about something other than how were doing?"

"You're right about that," Tommy said, "A few weeks ago, I sent a scouting party to Taylor Mountain. They returned yesterday, reporting an intact, abandoned military outpost to the southwest of it. It's close enough to the dam that we could possibly power it, and repair the radio tower inside of it. We could use it call in more survivors, let them know there's a safe place for them still standing. Not only that, but we could use it as a place to begin expanding. I was going to ask you to go with the group I'm sending to make certain we wouldn't be sending people there just to die by Hunters or get infected."

Joel thought for a minute before asking, "Will Ellie be going with the group?"

"No, I'm not going to potentially put her life in danger as well as yours." Tommy answered, then added, "I'm only allowing adults to go, anyways. No children at all. I promise, Maria and I will take care of her while you're gone."

Joel looked down at his feet for a second, deep in thought, before finally saying, "I'll go."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: After seeing where I am in this, I think the story will actually be wrapping up in the next few chapters. However, I'm still uncertain.**

Chapter 9: Alone

Casey was staring at the .44 Magnum in her hands. It was heavier than any other handgun she'd held, and it kicked a lot more. But, it was powerful. Her leg had finished healing last month, towards the end of winter, and her and Abraham have been on the road ever since. However, it never properly healed, leaving her with a small limp. A scar formed underneath her left eye. She shook her head to clear the memories threatening to resurface as she stood deep in thought.

She looked up to see the man she's started seeing as an adopted father, Abraham, looking down at her, concern in his tired, brown eyes, "You alright?" he asked her.

She gave weak smile, "Yeah-yeah, I'm fine, just tired," she paused for a second before adding, "How far have we gone?"

He pulled the map out of his backpack and looked at it a minute before saying, "Kansas City is a few miles west of here. Once we get there, we'll be halfway to our location. If we're moving at the same rate we have been, we should get there in the first couple weeks of summer." He looked up at the sun, and, realizing it was evening said, "Once we get into the city, we'll find a place to camp for the night."

They walked in silence for half an hour, until Casey asked what Abraham planned on doing when they reached the safe zone. He ran his fingers through his beard before replying, "I don't know. Possibly help on guard duty, or help repair vehicles if they have any. I was a, um, a combat engineer at the Boston QZ before those fucking Fireflies came through, blew a hole in wall, and watched the QZ burn to the fuckin' ground." Casey had no idea who these Fireflies were, but she didn't dare ask. Whoever they were, thinking of them seemed to strike a nerve in Abraham. He looked down at her and asked her the same question.

Casey took a longer time to think than he did before answering, "I'm not too sure. It seems kinda odd, not jumping at every noise or sleeping with one eye open," she hesitated before revealing what she hasn't told Abraham about herself yet, "First thing I'll do is probably learn how to read."

He stopped in his tracks, "You what?" he asked.

Casey looked up at him, embarrassment in her eyes, "I can't read. My dad told me that I shouldn't tell anybody about my weaknesses otherwise they'll take advantage of them. Also, it's kind of embarrassing to tell somebody that."

"Do you realize how dangerous this is? You could've died. You could have drunk poison while thinking it was water. You could've opened a door to a room of Infected without knowing what the warning outside was saying." He said, more irritated at himself for not asking her if she could or not.

"I'm sorry, Abraham."

He sighed heavily before responding, "It's okay, but no more secrets, okay?"

"Alright"

They stopped at an abandoned warehouse, where they decided to set up camp for the night. Casey quickly fell asleep, leaving Abraham with his thoughts. His thoughts kept going back to a single subject: his son, Tyler. He wiped a tear away from his face as his mind unwillingly forced back to that day.

Back to when Boston fell.

It happened just a few days after Corporal Ramirez and Sergeant Baker were gunned down by three people trying to leave the zone. The remaining Fireflies in the city blew a hole in the wall, allowing Infected a way into the city and providing them the perfect cover to leave. Most surviving military and civilians high-tailed it out of there. Others were stupid and tried to fight. Tyler was one of them. Abraham turned around to look at his son after hopelessly trying to get a 17-year-old boy to get the fuck out of there with him just in time to see a Clicker tackle him from behind and bite down on his neck.

He snapped back to the present to find himself carving a message into the back of his dog tags with shaky hands. He looked at the message he unknowingly carved, _"She's gone thru too much,"_ he looked at the back of his other one, _"pls, tke care of her,"_ he sighed, that was his one attempt at writing something for whoever's in the safe zone, or who finds her, and it was barely coherent. No matter, as long as there's a message. He quietly placed them in her backpack, along with the map.

He walked outside, remembering the encounter they had earlier. They were searching a gas station, he opened the back door to check for any spare supplies, and the noise alerted a Runner inside. It lunged at him, he put his arm under its chin to prevent it from getting him. He misjudged where it'd land, and he felt a searing pain as the Runner clamped down onto his arm, the spore infested blood leak into his arm. It bought him time, however, and enough of it to push it off, and crush its skull against the wall. It was a second after that he heard the loud bang of a .44 Magnum, accompanied by the dying shrieks of a Clicker. He looked back to see Casey standing over the body, the barrel of her .44 still smoking. She looked at him and said, "I'm good, you?"

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine." He walked into the back room, wrapped his bite, and downed an almost empty bottle of scotch he found. He heard getting lit while waiting to turn could slow it down.

He came back to reality staring at the bite while watching the white lines moving up through his veins. Once they reached his heart, his blood would be contaminated. He could spread the cordyceps. once they reached his brain, he'd have no control. He'd become the monster he feared the most. He wasn't going to let that happen. He pulled out his M9, put it to his temple, smiled, and said, "Dad's coming home, Tyler." before pulling the trigger.

Casey woke up, yawned, and blinked the sleep from her eyes. She was a little surprised to see it was morning. Why didn't Abraham wake her up to pull guard duty? Where was he even at? She called out his name, "Abraham?" No response. She tried again, more of yelling this time. When she saw the open door, she knew what she'd find. She knew he lied. She knew he was bitten. She breathed, in and out, fighting to stay sane, fighting the pain of losing her second father. She closed her eyes, and only opened them when she was certain the emotions, the pain of being alone again died. This was how she'd live. No pain, no fear, no love. She'd just put everything aside and become an emotionless, lifeless shell. The two people she cared for in this world, both dead, and both died for her. _You are the worst type of person, Cass. You have caused the deaths of your father, and the man who saved your fucking life. And for what? A chance to see how the people who caused this lived? What the fuck kind of selfishness is that?_ All these thoughts ran through her head as she lingered by the door. She tried to convince herself they were true, but also convincing herself they weren't true. She opened the door, and sure enough, Abraham's body was lying, crumpled on the ground, with the gun lying next to him. She took whatever he had on him and began the walk northwest.

Alone..


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I just wanted to let everybody who's been reading this story that I'm planning on creating a second part to this, I'm going to make it not anywhere near as choppy looking, and I'll be giving the characters I've created actual personalities. And, from this chapter on, I'll be writing in first person since I've found that it works better for me.**

Chapter 10: The Road

Brandon- Kansas

Rumors spread like wildfires wherever I've gone. An entire group of Hunters slaughtered brutally within a few days. People tied to a chair and tortured to death. A man wearing pure white, only broken by his skin, boots, and the fading blue threads on his jeans that haven't lost color yet. His body covered in the blood of those unfortunate enough to stumble across him. The only features exposed on his face were green eyes brimming with insanity.

They do not know what caused me to turn into this monster. They do not know this world took everything from me. Even the one thing I cared for more than life itself, my daughter, was taken from me. And, those fucking Hunters who dragged me out of the damn city before I could try to find her. I enjoyed killing them. I enjoyed watching them cower in fear as I picked them off one by one until they were dumb enough to leave me alone with their food. I hated them. I hated them for not leaving me there to either die, or hunt for my daughter.

I can't stop seeing the faces of the Hunters that took Casey away from me on every person I run across. They're all trying to destroy whatever is left inside of me. Very well, I'll just destroy them first.

I was just outside Kansas City when I stumbled across an overgrown warehouse. A body of a dark-skinned soldier was lying out front, they must have died weeks ago, a single gunshot to the head, and an exposed bite mark on the right arm. Either this man took his own life when he was bit, or somebody put him out of his misery. It didn't matter to me, he was just another nameless corpse. I took the kevlar vest he still had on, and put it on underneath my hoodie. After that, I went inside to search for supplies, found a half empty backpack, and was just about to leave when I spotted a colorful rectangle on the floor.

I knelt down to look at, expecting it to be just a photo of that man's family. I was wrong. I took one look at it, saw the old man with graying brown hair, and green eyes that were staring into something unseen, yet still managing to be full of life, and knew what it was. The thing that sealed it was seeing the little girl wrapped under his arms, giving a big smile, and her light blue eyes still brimming with innocence; despite living in a world forbidding it, and strands her black hair falling into her pale, freckled face.

_No…_

Casey- Wyoming

_No...no...no. C'mon, where is it? Where the FUCK is it?!_ I knew continuing my search was futile, I've already gone through my stuff three times, and haven't found the picture yet, though I was surprised to find Abraham's strange necklace mixed in with. I gave up around twenty minutes later. Thinking of where I could've dropped it, and deciding it wasn't worth risking my life over, I just kept swearing at myself for not being more diligent when packing up. What if it was your gun that you left behind? A bottle of antibiotics? I went to sleep after a few minutes of cursing myself.

I woke up a few hours later to the sound of voices coming from somewhere to the left of me. I didn't wait to find out if they were friendly or not before grabbing my stuff and hiding in the bushes behind my camp. I crawled as quietly as possible to the right of me, while having my revolver out, waiting to see the dark figures of people appear. When nothing did, I realized just how quiet the forest is. Nothing made a sound except for my breathing and the wind.

That scared me more than the idea that other people were out here. I never left those bushes until morning. And, when I did, I stayed low, and traveled only northwest. I still was trying to make it to the safe zone. I came across a river, where I took the opportunity to wash my face and refill my water canteen.

I was too preoccupied I didn't hear the person behind me until they grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back. They got on top of me and began unbuttoning my jacket, he spoke in a very soothing yet chilling voice, "Shhhh, It's okay little girl, we're not going to hurt you." It was then I noticed the other man walking up behind him.

That man spoke in an even more off-putting voice, though he wasn't speaking to me, "Good find, Jacob. I told you I saw a girl in these woods." It took me too long to realize their intentions to put up a decent struggle or grab a weapon. For minute, I even considered going along with it, just to better my chances of survival. Until, the face of the man on top of me transformed; the gray eyes, his short, blonde hair, the hardened face of an evil man. He turned into the man that haunted me for over a fucking year.

I screamed "NO!" at the top of my lungs, only to feel the sharp sting of a fist hitting my and the taste of blood filling my mouth. He hissed at me to shut the fuck up or they WILL hurt me. There's no way I could get away from them, unless…

I closed my eyes, took one deep breath. And, began a countdown in my head.

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

I leapt up, opening my mouth while doing so. I felt the smack of his jugular hitting the outside of my mouth, and bit down hard. Warm blood filled my mouth, the piece of his neck I bit became separated from the rest of his neck by a wall of my teeth. He fell off of me, grabbing his neck, choking to death on his own blood. I turned towards the other, his face was an exact replica of the blonde man's, only ridden with shock and horror. I screamed at him, pulled my knife out, and tackled him. I wanted to erase his face from existence, to delete him from my memory. My mind was no longer in control, I just kept raising the knife and bringing it down until the blade separated from the handle. At that point, I just started to cry. I couldn't just force everything down anymore. Not after two months. Not after losing the only thing I cared about twice. I can't do it. I just wept, and stared at the bloody pulp I turned his face into. I wept until I felt sick and exhausted. I tried to stand, but just collapsed and began to vomit my blood, the other man's blood, possibly parts of his neck as well, and my dinner from last night. I crawled as far away as I could from what I've done. It ended up being only about twenty feet. After that, I just sat down against a rock and closed my eyes.

Brandon- Kansas

I just sat there, staring at the ground. How long ago had she been here? Was that body travelling with her when he was alive? I barely paid attention to the footsteps walking up until I felt them staring at me, one of them spoke, "You know that body outside, man?" I shook my head. "No? Well, alright, then what's wrong?"

_Why are these people here?_ I wondered. Surely they have better things to do. A second voice spoke up, "Ain't it obvious? He's obviously lost a piece of tail or something like that." Really starting to annoy me now.

To add to my torture, a third voice appeared, "Sucks, too, you missed a rather nice one a couple months ago. She was travelling with that dead guy out there. I was gonna ask her if she wanted some supplies to give some comfort to a… lonely old man. But it seemed kinda wrong after seeing her reaction to the corpse out there. Y'know, she looked exactly like girl in that picture." Alright. You're dying the slowest.

The first voice spoke up again, "Really? What the fuck is wrong with you two?" Maybe this guy deserves to live, "Seriously, are you two only concerned about fucking a goddamn kid? You're fucking sick." Yeah, you live.

"That girl is my daughter," I spoke, standing up and turning towards them. Their faces filled with horror when they realized who it was.

_Oh, this was going to be fun._

**A/N: Hey, guys, I just wanted to say that there will be two or three more chapters after this one, and then I'll release the second part to the story. Also, I'd really appreciate it if you told me how I did with this chapter, since this is how I'll be writing from now on.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Arrival

Casey- Wyoming

I tried to stand up. I tried to move forward, but my body was content with staying here. Staring at what I've done. It took me the longest time to work up the ability to take a small sip of water and keep it down. I hated myself. Not for these two bodies lying in front of me, but for everything I've done leading up to this. I couldn't keep from blaming myself for their deaths. If I killed the Runner when I heard the scream, Abraham would be alive. If I stayed with my father rather than hang back, he'd still be alive. My father always said he'd die to protect me. That made it worse. Why couldn't I make the same commitment to him? Why couldn't I try harder to make sure we wouldn't get ambushed? I let my guard down, and now, I'm all fucking alone.

I didn't deserve the safe zone. I didn't deserve to live. I just wanted to sit there until I wasted away. My body was perfectly fine with that.

David- Kansas

Why? Why did he have to be her father? Why did he have to be THIS man? I thought as he turned around. I didn't even need to see his face to know that he was the White Death. He was the legendary Nomad, a travelling Hunter. Well, maybe I'll get a quick death since I didn't support my two fuck-witted companions, I thought hopefully.

He spoke with a voice dripping with malice, "Which one of you was planning on sleeping with my daughter?" I was certain he was smiling at our underneath his steel mask. Not a joyous smile, either, but the smile of a monster when his prey is trapped. Eric couldn't conceal his guilt. He shifted nervously and looked at his feet. The man saw him out of the corner of his eye, and turned, using the fist he formed to carry his body in a half circle, and connected it with Eric's cheekbone with a sickening thud. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped. Dead? No, there's no way he'd let him off that easily after the comment he made.

He used his position to drive his elbow into Matt's stomach, causing him to double over in pain before kicking him in the chin with blood-stained combat boots. He gagged and fell over backwards, a thin trickle of blood leaving his mouth. I doubted he'd get off just like that, but he'd definitely be getting off more easily than Eric. He turned to look at me and asked me, "What's your name, buddy?"

I swallowed, stammering as I said, "D-david," He recognized my voice as the one who told the other two off. He took a couple steps toward me, I flinched as he put a hand on my shoulder. He moved my chin until I was looking him in the eyes.

"You'll thank me later," He said, his fist colliding with the side of my head. The world went dark after a second of blinding pain.

Joel- Wyoming

I knew something was wrong before the patrol reached the river. Ellie knew it, too. I could tell by how she became more quiet the closer we got to it. The other three people haven't gone through what we have. They were amateurs compared to us. It became more obvious the closer we got to the river, and they continued to talk to each other. Other than Ellie and I, there was only one person that hadn't lived in Jackson almost the entire time the world's gone to shit. And even they didn't go what we've gone through.

"Oh, fuck," I heard Ellie say quietly. I understood what she meant, the smell bodies beginning to rot hit us like a wall, the two bodies lying on the riverbed were in plain view. The others were quiet now.

"Just stay back, tell us if you see anything," I ordered them. One of them nodded and brought their military carbine (courtesy of the group that now established a settlement at the military base) up to her shoulder. i almost forgot to tell them before going down, "Be sure to call this in to Tommy or Maria."

Ellie and I went down to the river to investigate, weapons drawn. She knelt down beside the body closest to us, and pulled his blood-soaked arms away from his neck; revealing a small, yet nasty bite. "So… it was Clickers, right?" She asked me as I turned away from the other body; remembering breaking down the door to that burning restaurant and watching Ellie start chopping that man's head to pieces with a machete.

"No, Clickers don't do this kind of damage," I replied, stepping out of the way to show her the bloody pulp that was this man's head.

Casey- Wyoming

I vaguely heard voices, but they didn't lull me out of the black I was staring into. I've been sitting here for three or four days, and I've finally started to be taken into the darkness. To finally be with my dad again. For all I knew these voices were just pulling me closer to the end. Until, a hand on my shoulder pushed me back into the real world.

Ellie- Wyoming

I put my hand on the person's shoulder talking to them the whole time, trying to get them to look at either me or Joel. Slowly, weakly, they lifted their head to look at me. A mix of nervousness and fear was in her eyes. She must've been my age or a little younger. The dried blood covering her face were evidence she was the one who killed them. She looked like she's just been through hell and back twice and wanted to go back and stay. I decided, against my better judgement, to try and talk to her. "Did you do this?" I asked, and immediately felt like shit for it. She looked back down at her arms, and nodded slowly. _Alright, so she did kill them. That's a start to an incredibly fucking awkward start to a conversation, Ellie. What's next, asking her if she's Infected?_ I thought, until I saw her shaking her head. I looked at Joel, and he was staring at me, surprised I asked that question. _Oh, fuck, did I say that out loud? Goddammit, you're a fucking idiot, Ellie._ I thought. I decided to ask another, more harmless question, and introduce us, "I'm Ellie, and this is Joel, we're part of a safe haven not too far from here," I told her, nodding my head in his direction, "Can you tell us your name?"

She looked at me, taking a minute to register what I said. In that time, I realized she's probably been looking for Jackson. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She tried again, just making a bunch of crackling noises. The third time she tried, she just jumped up and started hugging me. Her small body gave massive shudder with every cry she made while she wept. She buried her face into my chest and began begging for me to get her away from here. I didn't know what to do for a second, surprised at her sudden movement. After I got over my initial shock, I began to rock her back and forth while running my hand through her black hair. It took a second for me to begin trying to calm her down.

We sat like that for a few minutes, until her breathing slowed to the point that she wasn't hyperventilating anymore. I realized that was because she cried herself to the point where she was too exhausted to cry anymore. I pushed myself away from her until I could see her whole face. I told her that she could lean on me as we walked back to Jackson, and she did, the entire way there.

I was about to ask her where she got her limp from, but decided I've asked enough horrible questions for one day.

**A/N: How'd you guys like the chapter? Just one more to go!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Welcome

Joel- Wyoming

"How is she?" I asked the doctor when she walked out of the room.

The doctor sighed, irritated that she couldn't even go two steps before going under interrogation, "She's fine, Joel. She is suffering mainly from dehydration and exhaustion."

"Mainly?"

"Yes, mainly. We have detected multiple small strains of several bacteria, and viruses, we've given her a dose of powerful antibiotics," she said, and, after looking around and lowering her voice added, "Her blood tests for cordyceps have come back inconclusive," I stared at her, not following. She sighed again and said, "We took three blood samples from her and tested them for cordyceps spores. All three of them came back inconclusive. The tests can't figure out if she's infected or not."

"She was out in the open air for at least two days, so she couldn't have been infected by spores, and we found no bites when we checked her," I said, wondering if it was just error from the test when I thought back to Ellie's blood tests, "Didn't Ellie have similar results?"

The doctor nodded in confirmation, "She had two inconclusives and one saying the spores in her blood have died and are ineffective."

"So, it's possible she's immune then, right?"

"Yes, it's possible, but I'm not risking her getting bit to find out. She still needs to go under a two-day quarantine." The doctor stated, thinking I'd try to get her out of it, "However, select people have been cleared to visit her. Namely, you, Maria, Tommy, and Ellie."

I blinked in surprise, usually that privilege is reserved for close family, if anybody, "Is anybody visiting her right now?" I inquired. I wanted to visit her, see if I could find out more about her.

"Yes, actually, Tommy is." The doctor told me, "But, I'm allowing for two visitors at a time. So, you can go in. Now, please, I have work to do.

"Right, sorry," I mumbled as she walked away. I opened the door to walk in, and waited by the door. She and Tommy were in the middle of some sort of game. She still looked somewhat ill, but she didn't have a dead look to her eyes anymore. She looked like she'd finally a proper bath, after God knows how long. She had a clean white tank top on and the hospital's sheet was draped over her lap. Her black hair had gotten a much needed haircut and now only fell to the base of her neck. A smile lit up her freckled face and her light blue eyes shone with happiness. A complete 180 from where she was yesterday afternoon.

She looked up at me, waved and said, "Hi, Joel." In a quiet, somewhat hoarse voice just getting used to, well, being used again.

Tommy looked over to me, and invited me to join in their card game. The rules of the game were pretty simple, the girl would choose a card and Tommy would then reshuffle the hand. If she got the card right, she'd ask Tommy a question about himself. If she got it wrong, he got to ask one about her.

I turned him down, saying I'd join in the next game.

David- Kansas

I woke up feeling my brain trying break through my skull. I was sitting down in a chair, but not tied down. I looked down at my feet, to see a note lying right in between my feet. I picked it up and read it:

_"David,_

_Sorry for knocking you out. I didn't want you to try and shoot me since I've decided you aren't a total scum-fuck. Your friends and I decided to get better acquainted, so I'm hanging onto while you go. Your shit is underneath the stairs._

_Till next time, Buddy."_

I contemplated helping Eric and Matt, until I came to my senses, walked outside, grabbed my shit, and got the fuck out of there.

_**A/N: Thanks to everybody who read this and enjoyed it. I'm going to begin work on the second part shortly. Leave a review telling me what you liked about this FanFic, and what should be improved on. For the second part, I plan on giving the people who review it a voice. You can help to influence certain aspects of the story.**_


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